Union praises illegal meat haul

NFU CYMRU has praised HM Customs & Excise for its success in clamping down on illegal meat imports. 

Over 55,000kg of meat and 41,000kg of fish were seized by Customs in the last nine months, more than in the whole of 2002/3. 

Customs took over responsibility for anti-smuggling controls on illegal imports of meat from non-EU countries in April 2003.

Such high levels of illegal meat will carry disease risks not only towards animals but the population as a whole, said the union.

It highlighted the need to drastically improve the UK‘s port controls, a fact NFU Cymru has reiterated for the last two years, it added.

NFU Cymru‘s President, Peredur Hughes said: “NFU Cymru has lobbied very hard for the government to take the threat of illegal imports seriously.

“The high level of seizures proves that the agricultural industry and the government were right to take the threat seriously.”